Fast-growing Ohio school districts slated for more funding under Senate budget

Darrel Rowland The Columbus Dispatch Rick Rouan The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday

Jun 11, 2019 at 9:51 PMJun 12, 2019 at 6:27 AM

Heeding the cries of fast-growing districts in central Ohio and other mostly suburban areas, GOP leaders of the state Senate proposed pouring more than $37 million into schools whose funding has been capped for years by the state's funding system.

The Senate's version of the $69 billion, two-year budget proposal would not change the basic funding formula, which a group of lawmakers are still trying to revamp. It essentially would take the additional money that Gov. Mike DeWine allocated for "wraparound" services such as counseling, include an increase approved by the House, and add a "supplement for enrollment growth" that would provide more money to 186 of Ohio's 610 districts, based on attendance growth in the past three years.

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Rapidly expanding Olentangy schools would get the most supplemental money in the state, more than $2.8 million over the next two years. South-Western would be next, with $1.8 million.

"Olentangy will certainly appreciate additional funding, but we will always advocate for fair funding for all school districts, big, small, urban and rural," said Julie Wagner-Feasel, an Olentangy school board member.

She pointed out the new money would be eaten up quickly in one of the country's fastest-growing districts.

"On a per-pupil basis based on our current enrollment, this is an additional $53.39 per pupil, so our total per-pupil amount from the state would be $653.39 for next year if we DO NOT add any more students," she said in an email.

"We are projecting an increase of 400 students. The state's average per-pupil funding is $4,800. So while it looks like we are getting a lot of money, on a per-pupil basis, we aren't."

The Senate's version of a budget is not the final word, of course. Once the upper chamber approves it, a House-Senate conference committee would resolve substantial differences between the two legislative branches' versions by June 30. And DeWine wields the power of issuing a line-item veto to the finished product.

Senate President Larry Obhof said expected provisions addressing state school takeovers and graduation requirements would be added as omnibus budget amendments.

Under the Senate’s proposal, income-based scholarships for students who want to leave their public school districts for a state-chartered private school would expand to K-12, at a cost of $50 million. Students must live in a household with a family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($42,660 a year for a family of three) to be eligible.

Current law has been extending those scholarships by one grade level a year, sitting at fifth grade during fiscal 2019.

The bill includes $57.2 million for income-based scholarships in 2020 and $121 million in 2021.

State law limits the number of income-based scholarships to 60,000, but so far, the state hasn't come close to reaching that cap. In 2019, 23,000 scholarships were awarded under the scholarship program. The Senate's budget proposal would allow the state to increase the cap by 5% for the following school year if the number of applicants exceeds 90 percent of those allowed in the previous year.

Changes to the scholarship program, including a year-round application window, were hailed as positive changes by Citizens for Community Values.

“Senate President Larry Obhof is leading the way to provide Ohio students more opportunities to succeed,” said Aaron Baer, the organization’s president, in a prepared statement. “The proposed budget the Senate introduced today ensures Ohio’s public schools can thrive, while opening up doors of opportunities for families to find the best school that meets their needs.”

The Senate proposal also would expand school choice funding in Cleveland to about $23.5 million per fiscal year, up from $17.6 million per fiscal year along with $1 million for tutoring that was part of DeWine's original budget proposal.

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s capital appropriations was increased by $100 million to continue the construction and renovation of the state's school buildings. And state money for charter school facilities was upped to $250 per student.

State funding for school security grants would go up $250,000 in each of the next two years, and $1.25 million would be set aside each year for additional grants for nonprofits, places of worship, chartered nonpublic schools and licensed preschools to hire security personnel.

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan

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